The Assassin Smith

Zeta-Jones' stage career began in childhood. She often performed at friends and family functions when she was younger. She was a part of a Catholic congregation's performing troupe before she was 10. During this time Catherine made her professional acting debut when she played the lead in Annie, a production at Swansea's Grand Theater. She also starred in a version of Bugsy Malone. When Catherine was 14, Mickey Dolenz (of "The Monkees" fame) was visiting Wales and stopped by the Grand Theater to audition Catherine for The Pyjama Game. He was so impressed with her performance that she was offered the opportunity to join his show for the rest of the tour. By 1987 Zeta-Jones was starring in 42nd Street as Peggy Sawyer in the West End. Once the show closed, the actress travelled to France, where she received the lead role in French director Philippe de Broca's 1001 Nights (also known as Sheherazade), her feature film debut.